Highlights of Central America (Escorted Tour)

Duration: 19 days

from A$6175

This 19 day journey combines Nicaragua, Guatemala and Belize into 1 exciting adventure. We start in Nicaragua visit the colonial cities of Granada, León, Suchitoto and Antigua, before continuing to the Mayan ruins of Tikal and onto the jungles of Belize

Day 6-7: By road into El Salvador and onto the colonial town of Suchitoto

Day 8-9: By road to Antigua in Guatemala

Day 10: Optional excursions in and around Antigua

Day 11: Travel to Lake Atitlan stopping at the market at Chichicastenango

Day 12-13: Explore the surrounding area and the lakeside towns and villages

Day 14-15: Flight to Flores. Guided tour of the amazing ruins at Tikal

Day 16-18: Travel across the boarder to your rainforest lodge in Belize

Day 19: Depart for an international flight or extension

Day 1: Arriving Managua, Nicaragua

Those passengers arriving
on an international flight will be met by the tour leader or local
representative and taken to the group hotel in the nearby historic town
of Granada.

Breakfast included.

Day 2: City tour and excursion to Las Isletas

This charming city was once the wealthiest in Latin America; a staging
post for the shipment of looted gold. The architecture reflects this
one-time prosperity; huge wooden doors open onto shady patios, once home
to aristocrats. Efforts are now being made to restore the city's
splendour, and newly promoted tourism has been a trigger for the
establishment of many new bars and restaurants, as well as a pleasant
pedestrian promenade.

A tour with a local guide introduces you to some of the city's finest
colonial buildings and churches. And there is an included excursion to
Las Isletas, a 365- island archipelago, formed 20,000 years ago when the
Mombacho volcano erupted, hurling its top half into Lake Nicaragua in
giant masses of rock, ash and lava. Today Las Isletas is a haven for
birdlife, and the site of luxurious getaway homes for wealthy
Nicaraguans. Choose a spot here before dusk and watch the sun set over
the mainland.

Breakfast included.

Day 3: Excursion to the Masaya volcano and market

Today there is an
excursion to the Masaya National Park. Spend the day exploring its
volcanic crater lakes, the old hilltop fort of Coyotepe, and the active
crater of Masaya, as well as the eponymous town. Here you can wander
around the handicraft market, and maybe pick up one of the handmade
hammocks for which the town is renowned.

Breakfast included.

Day 4: Drive to Leon. Walking Tour

Today you journey to León, past the capital city of Managua, skirting
the lake of the same name as you drive. You then head northwards, past
the foothills of the Momotombo Volcano, to León, another of Nicaragua's
restored colonial cities. Here time is best spent wandering through the
streets and around the shady plazas and ornate churches that make up the
town centre.

Even during colonial times León had a strong liberal tradition (as
opposed to the conservatism that characterised Granada), and it has
remained the country's radical and intellectual centre, with a thriving
university population. The Sandinista link is still visible today with a
few large murals and revolutionary graffiti plastered over some of the
town's white adobe walls.

Breakfast included.

Day 5: Optional excursions in and around the city

The following day there is time for an optional visit to the pristine
Pacific coastline at Poneloya, a 18-km drive south of León. Enjoy the
long stretch of beach, watch experts surf the big waves and have a drink
at one of the ramshackle local bars. Or you can explore the local
mangrove forest, which runs parallel to the Pacific Ocean, by boat to
spot the local bird life and wildlife. There is a stop at a beach only
accessible by boat where there are projects to monitor turtle habitat
and hatching.

For those looking for something more
historical a trip to León Viejo can be arranged. This is the
archaeological site of the first location of the city of León set among
tropical trees in a sleepy area of the Department of León. The new
location was chosen in the early 17th Century following earthquakes and
impending dangers from more seismic activity and volcanic eruptions. A
walk around the foundations of the old city ‘centre’ will give you an
insight into the plans of the Spanish when they first settled in Central
America.

Breakfast included.

Day 6-7: By road into El Salvador - Fly to San Salvador. By land to Suchitoto

In the morning, travel back to Managua from León. From here you will
catch a flight to San Salvador the capital of El Salvador. El Salvador
is Central America’s least visited country and another with a turbulent
past, where throughout the 1980s a chaotic civil war was fought in the
mountains and fields that dominate the landscape. It is once again
finding its feet, and you’ll soon be whizzing through the country along
its impressive road system to the untouched colonial gem of Suchitoto.

The atmospheric town of Suchitoto is located just 47kms north of the
capital San Salvador, but it is a million miles away in all other
senses. Virtually untouched by tourists the small town is easily
navigated on foot, as you pass low level colonial buildings along
cobblestoned streets, where local artisans ply their trade.

From the town centre, where a beautiful white washed church dominates
the plaza, the town spreads down to the shores of Lago Suchitlán. Here,
restaurants offer wonderful views of the lake and the nearby forest
reserves.
The surrounding area is a renowned bird migration zone, and you can
spend a day walking along the trails of the forests that surround the
town or take a leisurely boat trip out onto the lake. Alternatively just
spend a day recharging your batteries and absorbing the sites of this
relaxed haven.

Breakfast included.

Day 8-9: By road to Antigua in Guatemala

Country number three beckons today as you travel north-west into the
Guatemalan highlands and the town of Antigua. Antigua is Guatemala's
colonial jewel, with cobbled streets, overhanging tiled roofs and a
beautiful, leafy central plaza. The town has an abundance of huge,
ruined churches, convents and monasteries, testament to a time when
Antigua was the country's capital, and its main religious centre. It
seems that every doorway opens onto a leafy tiled courtyard, as you
explore the city on a guided tour. A dramatic backdrop of smouldering
volcanoes reminds you how the city was destroyed by an eruption in 1773.

Breakfast included.

Day 10: Optional excursions in and around Antigua

Antigua is a welcoming place to relax and unwind, do some shopping and
enjoy excellent food, or just to wander around the ruined convents and
squares and enjoy the flowers in their beautifully tended gardens on
this free day.

For those wishing to get a little further afield there is the
opportunity for a full day excursion into Honduras to the ruins of
Copán. Copán, along with Tikal, is probably the most impressive of the
Mayan ruined complexes. Please note this is an extremely long day and
not always possible so please discuss with your tour leader if wishing
to organise this side trip.

Breakfast included.

Day 11: Travel to Lake Atitlan stopping at the market at Chichicastenango

Travel by gradually-ascending road to Lake Atitlán. The landscapes west
of Antigua are dominated by imposing volcanoes and small, busy villages.

En route we stop at the highland town of Chichicastenango, where the
symbols and practices of overt Catholicism mingle with esoteric Mayan
religious ceremonies, centred around the simple, whitewashed façade of
the church. Here there is a vast market, and there is time to wander the
labyrinthine streets that are lined with textiles, clothes and
tapestries of striking colour and extraordinary intricacy, as well as
extravagant hand-carved masks and good-quality leather goods. Local
farmers also bring an array of fruit and vegetables from the surrounding
villages, which they exchange and sell.

Breakfast included.

Day 12-13: Explore the surrounding area and the lakeside towns and villages

The lake is one of the most captivating in the world, with conical,
volcanic cones reflected in its impossibly blue waters, and traditional
towns and villages skirting its periphery. It's the perfect place to
spend a few days. You are based in the peaceful village of Santa
Catarina de Polopó, a few kilometres from the lively tourist centre of
Panajachel. Take a motor launch across the lake to Santiago de Atitlán.
Cruising over the still morning waters there are wonderful views of the
various shoreline settlements and cultivated fields, some grand houses,
and beyond to the gently sloping volcanoes that encircle the water. You
are greeted as you alight at Santiago by enthusiastic children, and the
town is an excellent place to buy brilliantly coloured textiles. The
children may also offer to guide you to the current resting place of the
smoking, drinking, be-hatted and roguish local idol, Maximón, who is
moved to a different house each year, and looked after by a diligent
entourage.

Each of the villages around the lake has its own traditional dress and
speaks its own Mayan dialect. There is plenty of time here to relax, and
enjoy the peace and quiet, and the magical views, or you can take to
the lake by canoe, hire a bicycle or visit one of the local butterfly or
animal parks.

Breakfast included.

Day 14-15: Flight to Flores. Guided tour of the amazing ruins at Tikal

Travel to the capital Guatemala City and the airport, for an hour-long
morning flight that takes you to Flores, located in the sticky jungles
in the north of country, your base for visiting the impressive Mayan
ruins at Tikal.

An hour from Flores lies Tikal where tall, elegant temples penetrate the
forest canopy; the views over the site from one of these temple-tops
are timeless and unforgettable. Spend time wandering through the palace
complexes with an informed local guide. Tikal was one of the largest and
most important Mayan city states, reaching its peak in around AD800,
before its mysterious demise. The pyramids and temples seem frozen in
time, but you're brought back to the present by the curious roar of
howler monkeys as they swing through the low branches of the trees, and
flashes of colour as toucans and parrots take flight. You are based in
the comfort of a secluded lodge on Lake Petén.

Later in the afternoon you may investigate the extensive grounds of a
nature reserve adjacent to the hotel, including the jungle-clad areas on
the shore of Lake Petén, where crocodiles have been spotted lurking in
the shallows, and you might come across the elegant wild deer grazing in
the shade. Don't forget to look up, because the trees are home to a
range of colourful, boisterous birdlife, include a number of varieties
of toucan, or just relax in the beautiful gardens and by the pool of the
hotel.

Breakfast included in Day 14.

Breakfast and Lunch included in Day 15.

Day 16-18: Travel across the boarder to your rainforest lodge in Belize

This morning you depart for the little known Mayan ceremonial site of
Yaxha, situated on the shores of a lagoon before enjoying a beautiful
drive across the border and into Belize, through the town of San Ignacio
and into the low-lying Cayo district.

You spend three nights at Chaa Creek, one of the first lodges of its
kind in Belize. This tranquil jungle hideaway, set in 135 hectares of
rainforest, was opened by an Anglo-American couple in 1981. The focus
here is on the area's natural attributes and activities available
include a stroll along some of the many orchid-lined trails, a calming
canoe ride through the mustard-coloured waters of the Macal River,
watching wild- and bird-life emerge from its shoreline habitat, or if
you're feeling more active you can explore the area on horseback or by
bike.

However, you may simply want to relax and enjoy the splendid tropical
gardens, or be pampered in the spa. It's a little piece of paradise
here, and the atmosphere is welcoming and informal.

Breakfast & dinner included.

Day 19: Depart for an international flight or extension

Travel by road to Belize City, and continue to your international flight.